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Publisher recommendation on text to speech

19 October 2010

PRESS RELEASE: 7 October 2010

The Publishers Association, The Society of Authors, The Association of Authors
Agents and The Right to Read Alliance today released a joint ‘recommendation to
publishers’ to encourage the use of accessibility functions on e-reading
devices.

The recommendation will go some way to offering people with print
disabilities the same rights to access e-readers as those without disabilities,
and should provide a more equal footing as sales of these devices take off in
the UK.

The joint statement “recommends that text to speech is
routinely enabled on all e-books across all platforms, at least where there is
no audiobook edition commercially available”.

A result of strong partnership working between the
organisations involved, it is hoped that the statement will open up as many
titles as possible to those with print impairments, through the text to speech
function. The advent of digital publishing offers new opportunities for titles
to be provided in accessible formats via the e-readers and other devices
available on the high street. Publishers are also using the increasing
prevalence of these technologies to produce more downloadable unabridged
editions of audiobooks and ensure that these are cost effective for consumers.

While many individual publishers have already enabled text
to speech on their e-books, the signing of this recommendation brings a common
base position for all publishers in the UK to achieve.

The partner organisations will continue to work together to
improve access to books, including to draw up new guidelines to help trade
publishers provide titles in ways which are accessible for those with different
kinds of print disabilities.

Victoria Barnsley, CEO & Publisher, HarperCollins and
President of the Publishers Association said: “The widespread availability and
increasing affordability of e-reading devices has brought these technologies
into the reach of the mainstream market. The text to speech function on new
e-readers, where the device will speak the text to the reader, offers a huge
opportunity to those with print impairments to access all titles published
digitally. The Publishers Association
has been working hard over the years, in partnership with other organisations,
to help publishers make accessible versions of their titles available and we
are really proud to have the opportunity to take such a big step forward with
the use of new technologies to make that a reality.”

Chair of The Right to Read Alliance,
Anna Tylor said:

"With the one step of enabling text to speech, publishers
open up opportunities for a wide range readers who find it difficult or
impossible to read standard print books, whether because of dyslexia, sight
loss or another physical disability. I congratulate the members of the industry
who have come together to make this recommendation possible, through
understanding the issues from each others' points of view and being open to the
opportunities. It is a tremendous achievement. "

The
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a member of the Right to
Read Alliance and Inclusive Society Group Director, Fazilet Hadi said:

"These
developments have a profound significance for me and for thousands of other
blind book lovers. They point to a future when blind children and adults can
buy the same books, at the same time and price as their sighted friends. Ebooks
with text to speech could really open up a world of reading to people who
cannot read print, so I wholeheartedly welcome this recommendation: it is
incredibly exciting."

Dyslexia
Action is a member of the Right to Read Alliance. Head of Marketing &
Communications, Jane Gallagher said:

'The
option for text to speech gives the 6m people in the UK who have dyslexia
another way to access books both for leisure and learning. It is difficult to
function in today's society if you cannot read and adopting this technology as
a standard will level the playing field a little more for those who struggle
with literacy.'

Mark Le
Fanu, General Secretary of The Society of Authors said:

“Authors are very conscious of the needs of the blind
and partially sighted and are keen to facilitate access to their books in ways
that do not undermine their ability to earn a living. We are happy to support
this sensible recommendation.”

Anthony
Goff, President of The Association of Authors’ Agents said:

“New technology has
given the chance for print disabled people to have access to far more books
through text-to-speech. It is right that they should be able to take advantage
of the opportunity and agents are happy to have played their part in
facilitating this.”

ENDS

Notes
to Editors

Recommendation

New advances in
technology have not only helped to open up new markets for publishers, but have
also offered vast new opportunities for published works to become more
accessible to a wider variety of people.

It is in the
interests of publishers for their published content to be available and
accessible to as many people as possible.
This includes the broadening of the market to those with visual
impairments or other disabilities which make it hard to access traditional
printed content, as a result of the leap forward in technology offered by
e-readers and e-books.

The text-to-speech
functionality on many of today’s e-readers offers a new opportunity to make all
e-books more accessible to those who find it difficult to engage with
traditional printed text products.

The
Publishers Association, with the endorsement of the Society of Authors and the
Association of Authors' Agents, recommends that text to speech is routinely
enabled on all e-books across all relevant platforms, at least where there is no audiobook edition
commercially available.

We
will continue to work together with all stakeholders to identify how people
with print impairments can access e-books that are not text to speech enabled.

The organisations involved

The
Publishers Association

The
Publishers Association is the leading trade organisation serving book, journal
and electronic publishers in the UK. Our core service is representation and
lobbying, around copyright, rights and other matters relevant to our members,
who represent roughly 80% of the industry by turnover. Our membership is open
to publishing companies that operate in the UK.

The
Right to Read Alliance campaigns for people who have sight problems, dyslexia
or other disabilities to be able to buy or borrow books which they can read at
the same time as everyone else, without having to pay extra. Member organisations are all concerned with
the production of material in alternative formats, either as producers or
representing the interests of people who cannot read standard print books. Most
are charities - there are no commercial companies involved.

Every
day almost 100 people in the UK will start to lose their sight. There are
around two million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading
charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information
for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, has a sight
problem RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk

Dyslexia Action

Dyslexia Action is a national
charity that improves lives through education. Its vision is a world where
barriers to learning, employment and fulfilment have been removed for people with
dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties.

The Society of Authors is a
non-profit making organisation, founded in 1884, to protect the rights and
further the interests of authors. Today it has more than 8,900 members writing
in all areas of the profession.

The
Association is a voluntary body providing a forum for member agencies to
discuss industry matters, to uphold a code of good practice, and to provide a
vehicle for representing the interests of agents and authors. Our members have
each practiced as literary agents for a period of three years or more, are
based in the UK, have a list of clients who are actively engaged in writing,
and abide by our code of practice.